I remember reading something similar for the pins in an MG (or Triumph? not sure anymore) manual transmission. In this case the suggestion was to use peanut butter to hold the pins in.
One trick I discovered myself. When working on the car, your hands get very greasy dirty. It's impossible to wash it all off, it just has to wear off after a couple days.
The trick is to rub your hands with Vaseline Lotion beforehand. Then the car dirt will wash right off.
Also be sure to rub your hands down with abrasive soap (like gojo) prior to rinsing with water. The water makes it harder to remove the grease so you want the grease in the soap and off of your hands first.
